working hours ??

[donbracho]

hello there hope all is well.

basically i work as a support worker for a care company.

my contarcted hours are 35 a week or 140 over 4 weeks as due to nature of job sometimes (always !)you work more hours than the 35 stated.

i have signed the opt out of the 48 hour rule.

i have worked for six months and never have worked 35 hours and done only one sleep its always about 50 hours.

this has caused problems at home as you can imagine especailly over the half term with three kids to see to.my aprtner has had to give up her job as the childcareis not there as nother thing is we dont know our rotas till a week before.

anyway my main point is that i rang up to advise i couldnt work a shift in a weeks time as it was too much,i was down for 50 hours again and cant do it anymore.

i gave over a weeks notice that i couldnt work it and tried to give the shift to my colleagues. the team leader who took the call advised me that this would be marked down as an absence on my record ???

i said i cant belive that is legal ? They give me more hours than i am contratced to do and then i inform them i cant work these hours anymore in general and inspecicially one shft that would bring me down to 36 for the week and i am absent !!

does anyone know anything to help with this ? there is no union at this company but i am joining one soon.

[honeybee13]

Hi there. Can you tell us what your contract or particulars of employment say about hours please?

 

HB

[donbracho]

they say i can work extra hours as and when needed .

[honeybee13]

Sorry to be pedantic, you can or you must work the extra hours please? You say you are contracted in this job and we really need to know exactly what the contract says, so we can advise you.

 

Thanks,

 

HB

[donbracho]

sorry ...

it is the nature of our business that from time to time your hours of work will vary.

...

[scousegeezer]

Donbracho,

You have stated in your first post that you have apted oput of the 48hrs rule. I assume you mean the opt out catered for in the working time directive. There lies your problem. If you have opted out and you have turned down/refused to work a shift - even though it would put you over your contracted hours - the company can mark you down as absent. It is a couple of years now since I have dealt with this type of problem , as a union rep; so I would recommend you read up on the working time directive. If you can no longer work more than the contracted hours, I would recommend that you have your opt out recinded by formally putting it in writing to your company - stating the reasons why. Good luck .

 

Scousegeezer.